A Word From Our Rural Family Medicine Residency Program Director

Welcome to the UPMC Rural Family Medicine Residency! We are excited to tell you about our program and introduce you to our learning community. Our mission is to develop highly competent and compassionate family physicians by providing an exceptional rural learning environment to meet the health needs of our rural community. We started our program in 2023 after several years of preparation and development to meet both educational and health needs of our communities.

Rural family medicine is one of the most rewarding careers available in medicine due to the many supportive relationships with patients, community involvement, and vast spectrum of medical care. Regrettably, rural communities have experienced a growing gap in life expectancy compared to their urban counterparts. This gap has many contributing factors but is manifested by proportionally more doctors being trained in urban areas to meet urban needs than are equally being trained in rural communities. This health inequity leads to obvious healthcare disparities. Rural training programs are a proven way to address these healthcare disparities by preparing physicians to work in those rural, under served communities.

Our program is an integrated rural training program where residents perform their first year of training in the suburban community of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, at the well-established UPMC Williamsport Family Medicine Residency. UPMC Williamsport is a Level 2 trauma center with a broad array of medical specialties and high-volume hospital with obstetrics, pediatrics, and medicine. This community is known for the Little League World Series and has a big city experience with small town feel. In the second and third years, residents will go to one of the critical access hospitals, UPMC Cole or UPMC Wellsboro, to finish out their training. Both locations have picturesque communities and supportive learning environments in a very rural area of Pennsylvania. This varied teaching allows residents to experience both the depth and breadth of medicine for preparation for their rural practice in communities that experience scarcity.

We are truly excited to tell you about what we have to offer for your training. Our faculty bring many years of clinical and teaching experience to help prepare you for your future practice. We have an enthusiastic support staff and community. We look forward to meeting and invite you to learn more about us!